Oval-tracked exercise apparatus for simulating hand-movement

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an oval-tracked exercise apparatus for simulating hand-movement having a rotary body on the tail of a main frame and connected with one end of treadles on opposite sides thereof. The other end of the treadle is connected to an accessory rod of an adjusting mechanism driven by a motor. Both of the treadles move in oval track and in an offset position. By a connecting mechanism, the two rocker arms moves according to the treadles at the shaft for simulating a walking exercise on an uphill road or on a downhill road.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Fields of the Invention

The invention relates to an oval-tracked exercise apparatus forsimulating hand-movement, and more particularly, to an apparatus inwhich the rocker arm and the treadle move synchronously in an oval trackand in an offset position for simulating the actual motion of the handsand the feet in an oval track during walking exercise session.

2. Description of the Related Art

People work for what they need. Meanwhile, they realize how importanttheir health is. Therefore, they do exercise for keeping their bodies ingood condition. The simplest way to exercise is the use of the exerciseapparatuses.

Among the exercise apparatuses, the oval-tracked exercise apparatus canbest simulate the actual walking exercise. U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,898(“Rehabilitation & Exercise Apparatus”) teaches that a motor impartsmotion to two treadle bars through a belt-driven toothed plate such thatthe treadle bars move in an offset position. However, it lacks means forkeeping the body in balance. Therefore, the operator easily falls fromthe exercise apparatus due to the instability of his center of gravity.

Another prior art—U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,343 (“Stationary ExerciseDevice”)—teaches that two rocker arms are pivotably connected to thebase. The bottom of each rocker arm and the front end of the treadlebars are joined to each other in a movable state. The other end of thetreadle bars is attached to the side of the flywheel. Both of thetreadles are alternatingly treaded to simulate the movement of hands andfeet in an oval track. Meanwhile, both rocker arms move in alternatingway to aid the operator in keeping their bodies in balance.

Since the hands of the operators are synchronically movable with therocker arms to perform the arched, reciprocating motion, this doesn'tcorrespond to the actual coordinating movement of hands and feet duringwalking session. Due to the non-ergonomic design, the muscle functioncould be deteriorated, thereby causing the abnormality of the balancesense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The conventional oval-tracked exercise apparatuses are divided intoelectric and manual type machines. Their constructions are almost thesame, but the greatest difference lies in that the electricaloval-tracked exercise apparatus utilizes electric motor to drive thetoothed disc in rotation while the manual one is operated by continualaction of operator's feet to impart motion to a flywheel thereof. Theinvention can be applied to both the toothed disc of the electricaloval-tracked exercise apparatus and the flywheel of the manualoval-tracked exercise apparatus. In order to unifying the differentterms for them, a rotary body is used hereinafter to stand for thesedifferent terms.

An oval-tracked exercise apparatus includes a round rotary bodyinstalled at the tail of a main frame and connected with one end oftreadles on opposite sides thereof, a rocker arm connected to the otherend of the treadle, thus form an exercise apparatus. A pair of accessoryrods inserts through a shaft and connects to treadles. Each of theaccessory rods connects to a rocker arm through connecting rods, movesin an oval track and in an offset position. A motor drives a positioningrod for moving an adjusting mechanism composed by pivoted connectingrods and shaft. Therefore, the present invention simulates the treadingaction of the feet and the swinging action of the hands during thewalking on an uphill road, a downhill road or a flat road.

It is a primary object of the invention is to provide an oval-trackedexercise apparatus that enables all of the operator's extremities tolocate on the exercise apparatus for simulating the jogging actionduring the excising session.

A further object of the invention is to provide an oval-tracked exerciseapparatus that enables the hands of the operators to move in accordancewith the movement of their feet in an oval track such that theoperator's health can be improved.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an oval-trackedexercise apparatus with an adjusting mechanism to adjust the angle ofthe treadle bars for simulating a walking exercise on an uphill road oron a downhill road.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description and its accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention showing the rear end of atreadle on the left side of a rotary body;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the present invention showing the rear end of atreadle on the bottom side of a rotary body;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the present invention showing the rear end of atreadle on the right side of a rotary body;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the present invention showing the rear end of atreadle on the top side of a rotary body;

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing the action of a connectingmechanism in FIG. 3, 4, 5 and FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing showing the action of an adjustingmechanism in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a main frame 11 of the present inventionhas two first pivots 37. Two first connecting rods 36 are pivoted on thefirst pivots 37 and connected to a transversely-positioned shaft 35. Theshaft 35 is then connected in sequence to a second connecting rod 21, anaccessory rod 23 and a positioning rod 33. The positioning rod 33supports the shaft 35 by connecting to a pivoting member 34 on thebottom thereof. The pivoting member 34 is positioned on a transverse rod16 and is turnable. A driving member 32 driven by a motor 31 isinstalled between the positioning rod 33 and the pivoting member 34. Inthis way, the motor 31 drives the pivoting member 34 to turn clockwiseor anti-clockwise at the transverse rod 16, pulling or pushing thepositioning rod 33 to change the position of the shaft 35 within thespace limited by the connecting rod 36. The above is called adjustingmechanism 30.

The accessory rod 23 turns freely at the shaft 35 at one end and isconnected to the treadle 13 at the other end, on which there is a thirdpivot 26. The second connecting rod 21 also turns freely at the shaft 35and is connected to the middle of a rocker arm 12 at the other end. Thebottom of a rocker arm 12 is connected to a third connecting rod 24,which is pivoted on the connecting member 25 and thus connected to athird pivot 26. Since the design makes the accessory rod 23 and therocker arm 12 move together, the above is called connecting mechanism20.

The treadles 13 are connected to the circumference of a rotary body 14at the tail of the main frame 11 and are positioned oppositely along thesame diameter. In this way, the treadles 13 move in opposite direction,with one up and the other down, or one front and the other back. Anenclosure 15 covers the rotary body 14 and other components such as amotor or power equipment (not shown in the figure) to form an exerciseapparatus 10.

Meanwhile, the invention has two sides with the same components that aredisposed in a staggered way. In order to prevent the illustration of therocker arm and the accessory rod in a mess, they are shown with only oneside.

Referring to FIG. 3, as the rear end of the treadle 13 starts at theleft side of the rotary body 14, and then the treadle 13 moves anddrives the accessory rod 23 connected to the front end of the treadle 13at the shaft 35, the treadle 13 reaches the suspending position as shownin FIG. 3. Simultaneously, as shown in sample E of FIG. 7, through thethird pivot 26, the connecting member 25 and the third connecting rod24, the accessory rod 23 drives the rocker arm 12 to reach a fixedposition within the range limited by the second connecting rod 21 withthe support of the second pivot 22 so that the user can hold the rockerarm 12.

The front end of the treadles 13 is connected to the accessory rod 23,which can turn round freely. As a given force, such as from the motor inthe enclosure 15, drives the rotary body 14 and makes the rear end ofthe treadles 13 reach the bottom of the rotary body 14, as shown in FIG.4, the treadles 13 lean at an angle, and the paddle goes to the positionof B along the oval track drawn in the figure. At the same time, thethird pivot 26, as shown in sample F of FIG. 7, with the driving effectof the accessory rod 23, drives the connecting member 25 and the thirdconnecting rod 24 simultaneously so that the rocker arm 12 moves withinthe range limited by the second pivot 22 and the second connecting rod21, and the handle reaches the position of b along the oval track drawnin the figure.

As shown in FIG. 5, as the rear end of the treadle 13 reaches the rightside of the rotary body 14, the accessory rod 23 connected to the frontend of the treadle 13 drives the treadles 13 to reach the position of Calong the oval track drawn in the figure. At the same time, the rockerarm 12 is driven by the connecting mechanism 20 comprising the secondconnecting rod 21, the second pivot 22, the accessory rod 23, the thirdconnecting rod 24, the connecting member 25 and the third pivot 26, sothat the handle moves as shown in sample G of FIG. 7, simultaneously andreaches the preset position of c along the oval track drawn in thefigure.

With the movement around the circle, as the end of the treadles 13 movesto the top of the rotary body 14, as shown in FIG. 6, and the paddlereaches the position of D along the oval track drawn in the figure, therocker arm 12 is driven by the connecting mechanism 20 so that thehandles move as shown in sample of H in FIG. 7 simultaneously to theposition of d along the oval track.

The rotary body 14 turns round periodically, driving the end of thetreadles 13 back to the starting point as shown in FIG. 3, so that thepaddle resumes former position of A along the oval track, simultaneouslydriving the rocker arm 12 and making the handle back to the position asshown in sample E in FIG. 7, equal to the position of a along the ovaltrack.

As the machine is in idle or in exercise, users can choose the altitudefor different workout conditions. Refer to sample I of FIG. 8, with themotor 31 of the adjusting mechanism 30 pulling back the driving member32 in the direction pointed by the arrow, the pivoting member 34 isdriven to level up clockwise at the transverse rod 16 and pushes thepositioning rod 33 to rise gradually, which supports the shaft 35 torise to the preset position in the range with the first pivots 37 as thecenter and the first connecting rod 36 as radius.

On the other hand, as the motor 31 of the adjusting mechanism 30, asshown in sample J of FIG. 8, drives the driving member 32 in thedirection pointed by arrow, the pivoting member 34 goes downanti-clockwise, pulls back the positioning rod 33, and drives the shaft35 to lower down to the original position.

Since the altitude change of the shaft 35 inevitably drives theconnecting mechanism 20 pivoted on the shaft 35 and thus changes theoriginal slope of the treadles 13, so as to simulate uphill, downhill,or general workout conditions.

Therefore, the advantages of the invention can be concluded as follows:

1. The use of the oval-tracked exercise apparatus of the inventionsimulates the movement of the hands and the feet during the session ofwalking exercise, unlike that the conventional rocker arms can onlyperform single arched swing.

2. The simulation of the movement of the hands and the feet in walkingexercise will enable the feet to move in an oval track for keeping theoperator's health in good condition.

3. The uphill and downhill exercise modes are available by adjusting theadjusting mechanism of the invention.

A further embodiment of the present invention includes the samecomponents as the above embodiment except the adjusting mechanism. Oneend of the first connecting rod 36 is fixed on the main frame 11 whilethe other end is connected with the shaft 35. And the shaft 35 isconnected to the connecting mechanism 20 such as the second connectingrod 21 and the accessory rod 23 in sequence. Thus the rocker arm 12 andthe treadle 13 move synchronously in an oval track and in an offsetposition.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of theinvention can, of course, be carried out without departing from thescope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and theuseful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

1. An oval-tracked exercise apparatus for simulating hand-movementcomprising: a) a main frame connected with a shaft and a rotary bodyconnected with one end of treadles arranged on opposite sides thereof;b) two rocker arms; and c) a connecting mechanism connected to the frontend of each treadle through an accessory rod connected with a shaft; theaccessory rod connected to a connecting member by a third pivot so as tomove the third connecting rod that is pivoted on the rocker arm; inaccordance with the movement of the treadle, the accessory rod drivesthe rocker arm to move in oval track, within the range limited by asecond connecting rod having one end connected to the shaft and theother end connected to the rocker arm.
 2. The oval-tracked exerciseapparatus of claim 1 further comprising: a) an adjusting mechanism withone end thereof pivotally connected to the main frame and with the otherend thereof connected with a first connecting rod; b) a positioning rodwith one end connected to the shaft while the other end thereof isjoined to a pivoting member; and c) a driving member driven by a motorand installed between the positioning rod and the pivoting member.wherein the shaft is moved within the space limited by the connectingrod.